


Chase away the shadows

by kaijuborn



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-16
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-12-03 02:03:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11522235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaijuborn/pseuds/kaijuborn
Summary: Lena tells Emily everything about the woman once known as Amélie Lacroix.





	Chase away the shadows

**Author's Note:**

> I actually wrote this quite a while ago (like, weeks ago) and I wanted to make it much longer, but I never got around to it. I figured I'd upload what I have so far, since I kinda like it :)
> 
> Enjoy!

Emily lay awake in the dark, her head resting on Lena’s chest, listening to her slow heart beats and her calm breathing. She knew Lena wasn’t asleep; every now and again, she would heave a heavy sigh.

 

They saw each other in person rarely these days, despite talking every day, and Emily treasured these moments more than anything. She would have enjoyed it more if Lena hadn’t been so forlorn and distant for the past couple of days, though. Emily knew something was off, but she didn’t want to pry; Lena’s job was hard enough as it was. Emily just wanted to be able to be there for her, when she needed it. 

 

Lena sighed again and Emily lifted her head slightly, pressing a kiss against Lena’s jawline.

 

“You still awake, love?” Lena wondered, sounding more surprised than Emily had been expecting. It wasn’t like Emily had tried to fake being asleep. 

 

“Yeah. I can’t sleep if you can’t sleep”, Emily said, softly. She slid a hand up and down Lena’s stomach, hearing her heart fluttering a bit. “You know that.”

 

“Right. Sorry, love.”

 

Emily didn’t reply, and Lena fell silent for a while. Peeking over Lena’s chest, Emily saw the alarm clock on the night stand read 03:17. Despite the late hour, she could still hear the sounds of the city from the street below the apartment; the occasional car, a couple of drunken pedestrians and a lone bus. In the corner of the room, Lena’s chronal accelerator cast a cold blue light on the walls.

 

“I’m sorry, Emily”, Lena said suddenly. 

 

“It’s alright.” She meant it; she didn’t mind being awake if it meant spending time with Lena. She couldn’t help but worry about her girlfriend, though; Lena was usually able to fall asleep within minutes. 

 

Lena shifted underneath her and then slowly sat up, making Emily move away and lay down on the bed next to her. A moment later, Emily squinted at the soft glow of the small lamp she kept near the bed. Lena looked down at her, a wrinkle of concern between her eyebrows.

 

“I want to tell you something”, Lena said. “I probably shouldn’t, because I’m pretty sure it’s classified.” She took a deep breath. “But I trust you.”

 

Emily sat up as well, reaching for Lena’s hand.

 

“Of course.”

 

“It’s kind of… personal, as well”, Lena admitted. Emily nodded a bit, urging her to go on. “Well… before Overwatch fell, there was this woman named Amélie Lacroix. Her husband, Gérard, was a member of Overwatch, which is how I knew her. And…” Lena hesitated. In the dim light, Emily picked up on a hint of a blush on her cheeks. “I had a bit of a crush on her.”

 

Emily couldn’t help but smile.

 

“That’s alright”, she said, reaching out to touch Lena’s cheek. “You’re not the first person I’ve had feelings for.”

 

“I know”, Lena said, with a hint of a smile that made Emily feel a bit better. “I never told her about it, since she was married. And I didn’t want to make things complicated or ruin our friendship.” She fell quiet for a moment, her smile fading, lost in some memory. Emily waited patiently. “… Shortly before the fall, Amélie was kidnapped by Talon. She was gone for weeks. We all thought she was dead.”

 

“But she came back?”

 

“Yeah. Part of her, anyway… I don’t know, she seemed fine at the time. Angela ran all the tests she could and, as far as we could tell, Amélie was the same as she had always been.” Lena ran her fingers through her hair, messing it up even more than usual. The gesture tore at Emily’s heart, though; Lena only did that when she was distressed or upset. “She went home with her husband to recover a bit, but… two weeks later she killed Gérard in his sleep.” Lena’s voice cracked and Emily leaned forward to wrap her arms around her, pulling her close. Still, Lena continued. “Talon did something to her. They destroyed who she was and made her nothing but a weapon.”

 

“Oh, Lena, I’m so sorry”, Emily said, burying her face in Lena’s shoulder. Lena’s breathing was shaky. After a moment, Emily pulled away, looking at Lena. 

 

“That’s not all”, Lena said. She took a couple of breaths. “Gérard isn’t the only person she’s killed by now. You know the person who killed Mondatta? Widowmaker?”

 

Emily raised a hand to cover her mouth, stifling a small gasp.

 

“That’s her?” she asked. Lena nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. “Oh my god.” Emily pulled Lena closer for another hug, and Lena sniffled quietly against her shoulder. “Oh my god, Lena, I’m so sorry.”

 

“There’s more”, Lena continued after a moment, her voice strained. 

 

“There’s more?” Emily echoed, which made Lena huff a little. Lena moved away a bit and rubbed her eyes. 

 

“Amélie has been working for Talon for years now”, she said. “I’ve met her a couple of times, and we’ve fought… I’ve never been able to actually hurt her… and she always manages to get away. But now, a few days ago… we caught her.”

 

“You caught her?” Emily repeated. Lena nodded. 

 

“She’s alive, and we’re keeping her captive at Watchpoint Gibraltar. But… none of us knows what to do with her. She’s not the same person anymore. It’s like… she remembers everything she’s done, even before Talon kidnapped her, but she can’t remember what it feels like. She feels no remorse over killing her husband, and certainly not over anyone else either.”

 

Lena sighed, averting her eyes, and Emily sat quietly for a moment.

 

“What will happen to her?” she finally asked. Lena gave a halfhearted shrug. 

 

“I don’t know. No one knows we have her yet. If people found out, she’d be accused of murder. She’d get a lifetime in prison. Or worse.”

 

“… I’m sorry”, Emily said, at a loss of words.

 

“It’s just… Winston and Angela believes that maybe we can reverse what Talon did to her. That she could become her old self again. But even if that’s true, even if it works…”

 

“She’d still be charged with murder”, Emily finished, regretting it a moment later when she saw the look on Lena’s face. Before Emily could apologize, Lena spoke up.

 

“And even if she wasn’t charged with murder… she’d be able to _feel_ again. She’d feel all the guilt and remorse for killing her husband and all those other people… even if that wasn’t really _her_ , and it wasn’t her fault, she’d still carry that guilt for the rest of her life.” The words tumbled out of Lena’s mouth as a couple of tears ran down her cheeks. “Would it even be right for us to do something like that to her? Wouldn’t she be better off the way she is now? If she can’t feel, then… then she can’t hurt…”

 

Lena started sobbing, and Emily held her close, her heart aching for her girlfriend.

 

“I’m so sorry, love. I… I don’t know what to say”, Emily admitted. She remained quiet for a while, simply holding Lena and letting her cry as much as she needed to. After a couple of minutes, Emily leaned back a bit and raised a hand to carefully wipe the tears off Lena’s cheeks. “Can I tell you what I think?”

 

Lena nodded, her eyes red and puffy from crying.

 

“I think right now isn’t the best time to think or talk about this”, Emily said, as gently as she could. She didn’t want Lena to feel like she couldn’t talk about these things, but she knew from experience that 3 AM wasn’t the best time to discuss deep philosophical or personal questions. Lena huffed a little, even though she sniffled as well. 

 

“Yeah. You’re right.” She let out a sigh, and even though it sounded weary, it was fond as well. “You’re always right.”

 

Emily gave her a little smile and placed a kiss at the corner of her mouth.

 

“We can talk more about it tomorrow, if you want”, Emily promised. “But let’s try to get some sleep at the moment, okay?”

 

“Yeah”, Lena said, nodding. She rubbed her eyes again and then turned around to switch off the light. 

 

The room went dark again, with the exception of Lena’s accelerator and the city’s light seeping in through the curtains. Emily lay awake listening to Lena’s breath slowing down and feeling her body relax in sleep before she allowed herself to fall asleep as well.

 

They’d talk about it again in the morning, and even if Emily couldn’t do anything to help, she’d always be there for Lena.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it! My original idea was that Emily would come with Lena to the Watchpoint and meet Amélie, and together they'd try to bring her back to her old self. I hadn't decided whether a romance would happen or not. But if someone likes that idea, hmu and I might continue writing this!
> 
> [I'm doing Overwatch fanfic commissions!](http://kaijuborn.tumblr.com/post/162990579044/hey-guys-im-opening-overwatch-fanfic)


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